Did you know there are only three black female billionaires in the world?

Folorunsho Alakija

Folorunsho Alakija, 68, is a Nigerian self-made billionaire businesswoman with a net worth of $1 billion.

Alakija started her career in 1974 as an executive secretary at Sijuade Enterprises, Lagos, Nigeria for some years before establishing a tailoring company called Supreme Stitches.

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She is the founder of The Rose of Sharon Prints & Promotions and the executive vice-chairman of Famfa Oil Limited, a Nigerian oil exploration company with a stake in Agbami Oilfield, a prolific offshore asset.

She started with the fashion business with prominent customer such as the wife of former Nigerian president Ibrahim Babangida.

Alakija’s company was awarded an oil prospecting license in 1993 by the Nigerian government, which was later converted to an oil mining lease. Her Famfa Oil’s partners include Chevron and Petrobras and she is also into the real estate and printing industries.